You Took My Monster Away
by DaemonSyndrome
Summary: Life has a twisted way of making you sacrifice what's most important before you can be reborn into a promising future. Sometimes you might even have to become the monster in hopes of fighting to change the harsh reality. SephClou; plus VinCid later
1. Secret Ending

Disclaimer: Square Enix will name my child, whether they agree to it or not. :D

Accepts: Reviews, Flames, Suggestions, and everything else

Warnings: none; implied yaoi though.

Author's Note: I'm trying out a new FF7 story because, as much fun as 'Traitor' is to write, I need to show more FF7 love. Plus, 'Traitor' was written for amusement, yet I want a more serious fanfic.

_Italics - special emphasis, inner monologue, voices inside Cloud's head_

**Bold - huge, usually important, emphasis, past words by Zack or spoken memories**

Horizontal Line - means a break, or switch, in action or point of view

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_"People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished." - Rufus ShinRa  
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**+ Secret Ending +  
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And so he takes sword in hand once more, remembering the single most important secret he has kept dear in the three years since the final showdown at the North Crater. No one knows what truly happened that day, just the rumors and tales filtering through the lands. Even those chosen by the planet, those that followed him to the very end don't know what transpired when he alone faced the ex-general for the last time. At first it was but a nightmare, an agonizing revelation that this man—his precious idol—would soon die by his hands and nothing could alter the course of fate.

Outraged by the reminder of whose sword rested in his hands and the flower girl sleeping beneath the waters in the Forgotten City, the urge to forget those past memories took over and compelled him to dash forward and attack. Dancing with destiny, free of the strings of a puppet—or so he believed—he struck first at his enemy and began their dance of swords. Frightening attacks and bursts of aura shook the already breaking and quaking scenery of marred snow amongst spurts of green fluid from the lifestream gushing to the surface. With each blood curdling sound the two men fought to the death, until one stumbled in his efforts and allowed the other to seize the opportunity.

A deafen scream shook the already trembling atmosphere as a long glinting sword—Masamune—pierced his stomach and lifted him like a rag doll to hang in front of the master of his broken strings. Feline, mako-infused, hues ignite with a sharper glow at the visage of pain and despair playing across his feature so unguarded. Words are spoken, a grin rising onto that fiendish face, before a black gloved hand tightens upon the hilt of the sword and flings him into the collapsing crater in the distance. The initial impact is too painful to describe or release in screams; there is merely an opened mouth portrait of sheer misery and rising defeat as the warrior struggles upon the ground. Trails of blood weave into his sweat and traitorous tears as the anguish overwhelms him, and nearly becomes his undoing. Yet, by the will of determination, the fallen man forces out inner strength to rise again and call forth the essence of the perfected technique left to him by his best friend: Omnislash.

Surging with new power, calling worth all he has left to give, the man dashes forward in the epic finale to deal the killing blow to his enemy. Not even the slightest sound disrupts the single moment in time of achieved victory, as his prized Buster Sword pierces straight through the legendary general who would soon be dead along with his wave of madness. However, as adrenaline fades and time begins to flow again, along with the splatters of dripping blood, a dark grin spreads across the ex-general's features. Strong arms gradually surpass normal human resolve to grip the broad sword in his gut before jerking the weapon further into his dying body. With each power tug, the chosen warrior is driven closer to the insane man, and out of petrified confusion he is too startled to release his grip on the hilt.

Soon those hands are on him, trailing up his shaking body to settle around his throat. Bright blue eyes are bound to the sight in front of them, too afraid to look away from the long dripping silver tresses and the unmarred smug look on his adversary's face. Even like this there is an unrivaled beauty to his idol—to the one-winged angel—and he is terrified yet excited to find out just what the man has planned for him. For a long time those gloved palms merely rest against his throat, neither tightening nor retreating, as he slowly inhales and exhales in wonder. Eventually, the man shifts just enough to unsettle silver tress and reveal one staring catlike green eye. In that instance he is enchanted and once again bound to the will of the man and monster known as Sephiroth.

"_I won't be forgotten...you will remember me...in your memories. Forever."_ As those words course through his mind, carrying across the mental link between master and puppet, the chosen warrior can only bow his head numbly in answer. It is an unspoken agreement, a dedication no one could ever know about as long as he lived. In the past things were similar to a moment like this, a situation so far in the past when he merely existed as a failure cadet smitten by a general so far out of his reach. Rekindling those thoughts and feelings only made everything all the more real. He just murdered his beloved, and now...he will only have despair to embrace him at night instead of those strong arms that held him so tightly into the dawn.

As new emotions—ones once forgotten—swell within him and crystal tears rush down his cheeks, a pair of deeply familiar lips seal over his own in a scarlet kiss. Immediately, by the course of his own trapped desire and spellbound will, the warrior responds eagerly to appease his dying lover in their farewell embrace. In the one visible green hue, a strange glint breaks to the surface revealing sanity where there was once none. In their conjoined minds an alien echo of ignored shouts can be heard, the voice of Jenova in outraged panic as her stolen son moves of his own mind and will. In time the woman's voice fades and disappears until silence remains in her wake. At that moment, the last of the one-winged angel's feathers cascades to the ground right before Sephiroth succumbs to his fate and falls for the first and last time.

"_Thank you... Cloud."_


	2. Fallen Warrior

Disclaimer: Square Enix messaged back; they will agree to name the child if I call off the obsessive fan mobs. :D Deal.

Accepts: Reviews, Flames, Suggestions, and everything else

Warnings: none; implied yaoi though.

Author's Note: Still going strong. huzzah!

_Italics - special emphasis, inner monologue, voices inside Cloud's head_

**Bold - huge, usually important, emphasis, past words by Zack or spoken memories**

Horizontal Line - means a break, or switch, in action or point of view

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_"You are just a puppet. You have no heart and cannot feel any pain." - Sephiroth  
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**+ Fallen Warrior +**

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Tears cascade down the warrior's smooth cheeks as trembling hands reach out to lift the collapsed man in front of him into his arms. With lover and master dead in his grasp, the impact of his cruel fate grips his mind harshly. Pain escalates at the notion of what he has done to appease the planet and those who knew nothing of what really slept within the ex-general from the very beginning. Madness alone could not have driven Sephiroth to seek devastating revenge against the world. ShinRa, and the frightening experiments bringing forth his existence, were enough to destroy him mentally, but Sephiroth still would not have gone so far as to strike against the planet in such a way. The truth of what truly led the ex-general towards this path lies in the deception of his false mother, who embraced him with her dark words and transformed him body and mind into the monster that proclaimed himself a god.

In the beginning he, too, knew nothing of what became of Sephiroth because of his hazy memories and refusal to forgive the man for betraying him so carelessly. However, as time worn on after countless battles and personal sessions with the psychotic man he finally could separate man from monster to see the truth. What stood in front of him in every battle before the final blow was not his beloved lover at all, but a will-less copy following blindly for a single hope of understanding. In one night Sephiroth had to stomach the nightmarish revelation of how he was conceived. No one was there to comfort him, deliver reason, or hold him and whisper that he is still human like everyone else and not a grotesque creature like those in the mako tanks. The only special properties governing Sephiroth is the magnitude of his heart and outstanding mind, not the mako or whatever lies spewed from Hojo's lips.

And yet, at the peak of this great revelation the warrior chosen by the planet—Cloud Strife—couldn't save even the one he loved most in the world. Probably when it came down to the honest truth of his abilities he truly couldn't save anyone. Time and time again, those dear to him fell to the darkness of death and he could do nothing to prevent the descent. So why is such an useless puppet crying his heart out over a cold corpse? Didn't the monster of his lover chastise him over and over for expressing such emotion that should be foreign to a mindless being bound by strings?

Mother, Aeris, and now...Sephiroth have all left him to return to the lifestream. He has nothing left but the scars and reminders of how much of a failure he has always been. He wasn't good enough to achieve his dream of becoming a first class SOLDIER, he wasn't good enough to save Aeris or receive a number from Hojo, and now... he simply wasn't good enough to even protect his lover from an insane alien woman bent on destroying the world. Why did the planet even choose him? It must be some twisted joke, a misprint in the writing of destiny and fate. Maybe in the actual holy text a blond haired boy with unruly spikes was supposed to suffer in the place of this great man and take on the burden of being a lab experiment? If only that were the case; he would gladly take his lover's place to give him a second chance at living a normal life instead of one so jaded. He would give anything, if Sephiroth asked it of him.

_"If we could go back...to those days in SOLDIER...I would show you what it means to be loved; I would show you that you were never truly alone."_ The warrior whispers against the silver mane of his beloved, while continuing his futile attempt to share his lingering warmth with the lifeless corpse cradled against his chest. It hurt like a thousand knives to witness the visage of his idol falling to the ground after the scarlet kiss still tingling upon his lips. Not once in his obsessive and loving watchfulness of the man had he ever seen Sephiroth collapse on battlefield or even suffer any wound as devastating as the gaping hole left by his Buster Sword. With his hands, with the sword given to him by their best friend, the final betrayal and act of revenge was delivered and yet...Sephiroth actually thanked him. It was simply too cruel to accept. Just where could he go now?

//**Fall.**//

Cloud freezes at the familiar eerie tongue; an uninvited slur of the guest he would never welcome. _"...Jenova."_ Nothingness answers him as the ground beneath his gives one last dangerous quake before crumbling to pieces. In an instance he is latching onto Sephiroth tighter than before as they both descend into the crater, darkness sweeping in to encase them completely. Strangely, the warrior finds himself recalling a similar drop in the past, one that confined him to his bed for many days. That time he had been lucky to escape death's clutches, yet this time...he doubted such fortune would smile upon him. Soon his journey would come to an end to rest at the bottom of North Crater beside him angel, and...he couldn't be happier. At least he could join Sephiroth in the lifestream.

"No...don't listen...you don't belong in...the...life...stream..."

Bright blue eyes blink in confusion at the new voice tickling his mind. It sounds familiar yet the tone is so distorted to his comprehension that he cannot pinpoint it's owner. What did it mean? Why couldn't he belong in the lifestream? No. He would not allow anyone else to call upon him and force anymore painful memories upon him. It has to be the planet, once more demanding him to leave for another selfish task, but he refuses to obey after betraying his lover so traitorously. Could this not be considered an act of redemption? An eye for an eye? In all he has done...not once has anyone ever understood the sheer anguish and countless nights spent in torment building up to the final showdown. He would not fight anymore...not after this.

"Don't...die....there is...hope. You can....change...the...pas..t."


End file.
